WGA Makes Interim Deal with MRC

The following press release was just sent out by the WGA. MRC is a company focused on the opportunities in New Media, and is well known for their deal with Seth MacFarlane in which he, as a creator, retained full creative control of the project and an ownership stake in the venture.

MRC is a new kind of company for a new age in content creation. We'll have more on this deal, and MRC, very soon -- stay tuned.

LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and MRC, the independent film, television, and digital studio, have reached a comprehensive interim agreement that forges a new alliance between writers, producers, and financiers in the production of feature films, television shows, and digital programs.

"This is an exciting agreement that will open up opportunities for writers, especially in New Media," said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East. "We know that Guild members will be eager to be a part of the MRC creative team."

"MRC operates from two basic concepts and this agreement is a natural extension of that ethos: we treat talent as our partners and we maximize distribution across all digital, film and television platforms," said MRC co-CEO’s Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk. "As with all of our partnerships, we could not have accomplished this agreement without creative talent. In this case, we especially want to thank our colleague Seth MacFarlane for helping pave the way with the WGA and also to the leaders of the Guild who worked with the utmost professionalism."

The terms of the agreement are similar to the Guild's recent deals with Worldwide Pants and United Artists. An executive summary of the Worldwide Pants agreement can be found at http://www.wga.org/contract_07/wwp_exec.pdf.